The importance of
unexpected outcomes
By Neal Williams, Lead Scientist, Material Science Group, AkzoNobel
October 2014
But many discoveries are completely unexpected and often occur as a result of some
‘happy accident’.
Then, in the part that isn’t an accident, they
turn that observation into something useful
– applying it in a completely new and unexpected way.
There are plenty of examples that have
happened over the years. They include
the discovery of Penicillin, the microwave,
the pacemaker, insulin, super glue and
many more.
However, as frequent as these examples
are, opportunities to transfer technologies from one business area to another are
often missed.
There are some good reasons for this. In
industry, people know what they know and
what they do well but they are often reluctant
to take on new pieces of technology that
have originated from other disciplines and
which may take some time to develop.
When placed within the context of yearly
targets and end of year appraisals, the
reason why many shy away from this kind of
work becomes quite clear.
Of course it is important to have short term
objectives. But to secure breakthrough
changes, a much longer term vision is
needed. This requires a broader approach
to scientific research taking into account
all of the many technologies that could
be important in the near future. It also
requires people to look beyond the scope
of their own specialist fields working across
departments and technical disciplines.
This can be done through formal systems
such cross-company working groups but
equally important are the informal ways that
people interact.
Networking is a vital part of this and it is
going to become more important than ever.
information. It is also an excellent opportunity for those more senior to disseminate
their knowledge and train the next generation
(acting as a mentor) which in itself is a motivating activity.
Electronic media has also made a huge
impact over the last 20 to 25 years to the
way companies communicate internally
across different research and development
groups. And this will no doubt continue to
develop. Making predictions is always hard
but those companies that make best use of
these systems will stand to benefit.
Ultimately, organizations that are able to
achieve an effective cross-departmental
dialogue will be best placed to identify
opportunities to transfer technologies from
one business area to another. As history has
shown, it is often these kinds of innovations
that can be the real game-changers.
For people new in their careers, networking
is a good way of learning and picking up new
AN_201562_170415
Some scientific breakthroughs come about
after meticulous, objective-oriented laboratory work finally provides the result that the
researcher is aiming at.